189 – Defense of the Yellow Plains (2)

Immediately after the military council, the Duke of Orléans and the two counts began preparing to return to their territory with their men.

In addition, it is customary to leave behind the minimum amount of support supplies, expressing gratitude and apology for protecting the backs of allies who are retreating like this.

However, they seemed to be trying to return to their manor as soon as possible by reducing their burdens as much as possible, leaving everything except expensive armor and minimal food.

Seeing that, our soldiers laughed like this.

“The nobles of the neighboring town must have felt sorry for us who were left behind. Otherwise, there is no way we can give away so many things for free.”

So, in gratitude for the kindness of the guys who left everything to us, I threw a huge banquet in the upper dimension using the food they gave me.

Soon after, I moved my army to the Yellow Plains of the Earldom of Iris, a little further in from the vicinity of the town of Sein, which was not suitable for defense.

And immediately, I sent a reconnaissance party to grasp the surrounding terrain and convened a military meeting with the commanders under my command.

**

Read more novels at noblemtl.com

My private tent for military meetings.

Outside the tent, Captain Short, who would be promoted to major if he won this war, and his reconnaissance troops were watching closely, and inside, the barons were exchanging opinions loud enough to be heard from the outside.

“I’ve always felt it since I started serving His Excellency… This operation is a bit reckless! The enemy’s estimated number of soldiers is over 75,000, but aren’t our forces only 25,000? Even if we are on the defensive, this is a plain with nothing! A bit more prepared… ”

“Beermann, calm down a little. Didn’t you see the ability of the cannons and grenades and the sappers during training last time? Balt thinks that the Marquis must have planned everything.”

“Okay, calm down. Also, as the enemies engage with us, taking damage that is incomparable to our own, time is still on our side. If we solidify our defense in the meantime, we should be able to win without a problem.”

The other barons believe that I will bring victory no matter what, but Biermann alone insists on stepping back because he needs more preparation.

In situations like this, it would seem from the outside that Baron Biermann is saying that because he lacks the courage compared to other lords, but…

If it’s not that I’m opposed to the battle itself, but that it’s to the point of saying that careful preparation is necessary, then he’ll change his mind after hearing the countermeasures I’ve prepared.

As always, I went into the tent, was greeted, and began to speak, maintaining an expression as if I hadn’t heard anything.

“In normal times, I’d like to start by praising your major, but I don’t think I can afford that right now. So, let’s start planning and preparing for the operation right away. First of all, as you all already know… Our army is only about 25,000, and the enemy army is mostly ragtag, but we will lead an army of 75,000 and attack the Yellow Plains.”

When the word 75,000 came out of my mouth, the atmosphere instantly became chaotic, but I didn’t mind and continued the conversation.

“However, the eastern French defense forces led by Marquis Simon have to recover from the damage suffered by our forces, reorganize their forces, and prepare materials necessary for the recapture of Iris and Aquitel Counties. On the other hand, it will be difficult for our allies to receive additional troops, but we will use this time to build a fence as quickly and firmly as possible.”

The barons under my command looked bewildered as if they didn’t understand why they were suddenly trying to build a fortress.

Among the guys who reacted like that, Baron Frost looked at me and asked cautiously.

“No, Your Excellency the Marquis. It is a plain, so it is difficult to get timber. So if it’s for a month or so… The limit is to make a wooden fence, a watchtower, a moat, or a large shield to block arrows. Therefore, it may not be a bit time consuming to build a wooden fence… ”

There’s certainly a forest near where we’re stationed, but it’s about two kilometers away.

From the distance on the map, it seems to be fairly close, but bringing enough trees from there to be used as the walls of the wooden castle…

Unless modern heavy equipment is used, there are of course limitations to transporting timber by land.

“As you said, I have no intention of using the method of cutting down trees in the forest and mobilizing carts or soldiers to transport them.”

“Then, how are you planning to do it?”

I said, pointing to the camp where I was stationed and the Yellow Harbor River that flows to the right of the forest.

“In the forest, trees are cut down according to the specifications of the huge logs to be used for the walls of the wooden castle and other parts to be used in the facility. After that, we tied a huge log with a rope and floated it on the river to the place where we decided to build the fort. I’m thinking of covering all the trees that were transported with plenty of mud just in case.”

After talking this far, I unfolded another map with a picture on it.

Above it was a huge square-shaped fortress that I had drawn before I left for France.

After that, I thought that they might have a hard time accepting the new information, so I gave them a little time to cool off.

Then, the barons began to express their admiration for the realistic opinions I presented for building the fortress.

“As your Excellency said, there is a distance from the forest side to the place where you want to build the fort… If you transport trees by floating them in the Yellow Harbor River, you don’t have to drag them on the ground, so it’s definitely less power and you can save time.”

“Even if we are filled with elite troops, we are in a situation where our size is more than three times that of the enemy… It is right to focus on defense as your Excellency thinks.”

“In normal cases, if you build a fort like this, you’ll try to bypass it, but… The enemy commander-in-chief, the Marquis Simon, was defeated head-on with 1.5 times as many troops, and as a result, the last battle was completely ruined. So, if we can’t defeat us, we will lose our position politically… Even if our allies are stuck in the fort, they won’t think of going back.”

The baron under my command, no, the officers of the rank of major or higher, were organized into commanders who had the ability to emulate even if they did not have a novel idea that transcended the times.

Read more novels at noblemtl.com

Maybe that’s why they react so positively just by hearing that they can build a fort.

“In addition, a moat will be dug in front of the fortress, and a wall about 2.5 meters high and a floor about 1 meter high will be built of wood covered with mud. In addition, a total of 80 holes will be installed in the east, west, south, and north where cannons can be placed and fired in the middle. And I’m planning on arranging a mix of soldiers with matchlocks, soldiers with grenades, and soldiers with long spears to facilitate the defense. Not only that, considering the possibility of the enemy breaking through the castle, I plan to build a double wall and strengthen the defense.”

The barons gulped and looked at me silently, as if imagining the castle I was talking about being built.

Obviously, he was imagining a scene in which the cannons and grenades shown in the weapon demonstration were used against 75,000 troops in a fortress made by sappers.

Those who know the power of cannons and grenades used on the battlefield, but do not know the exact effect, will not be very accurate in their imagination.

Probably not, but you might be imagining that a cannon is as powerful as a catapult.

However, when cannons were fired against dense infantry in real history, the cannon fired directly without exaggeration swept away the dense infantry like knocking over bowling pins.

Also, grenades burst from their front and sides, shredding at least 3 enemies at a time.

And from then on, the knights could not find romance on the battlefield and disappeared into the back of history in despair.

Even if I explain it to you yet, the barons in front of me won’t understand this story well, and even if they don’t know it now, there’s no particular obstacle to the operation.

So I looked at them with a voice full of confidence in victory and eyes filled with the will to win.

“After using cannons, grenade launchers, and matchlocks to dampen the momentum of the enemy troops, demolish part of the log wall and send out infantry and knights to attack the enemy forces. At this time, if an infantry war breaks out… Combat sappers will be active. And at the end of the battle, I will resupply the lances to the knights using the cart in the inner castle, and I will pursue them so that not even one of the enemy soldiers can return safely.”

At the end of my words, the other barons, starting with Balt, suddenly cheered.

“Long live the Marquis!”

“Let’s take a certain victory in our hands!”

Seeing them full of confidence towards victory made me very happy.

Riding on that momentum, I lowered the knife to the desk and said.

“I have already signed a contract to participate in general logging and construction work on the condition that I give adequate food and wages to the serfs around here, and I will start working on the wooden fence in earnest tomorrow. Also, even if the enemy comes a month later, we must finish the job as quickly as possible! So, all the nobles below the baron, including me, except for the corps of engineers and some supervisors, will all carry shovels and start construction, so rest in peace. More than.”

The barons who listened to my words all listened well to the fact that the work had to be completed quickly, but when I was told that all the nobles, including myself, would be put into the construction, they looked at me with a blank expression.

However, this time, I had no choice but to build a fence that could accommodate 25,000 soldiers in a period of less than a month without adding a real exaggeration.